'Killer Robots' in the Works, Inches Closer to Reality [VIDEO]
The rise of "Terminator-like" robots may become a reality soon.
An initial meeting for the "Killer Robots" will be held at the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), Geneva on May 13. Two robotics experts, Profs. Ronald Arkin and Noel Sharkey, and the representatives and international United Nations agencies will attend the convention. It will be the first time that the issue for killer robots will be addressed in the CCW.
The fully autonomous weapons, known as the killer robots, are machines that will identify and kill targets without human input or intervention. The use for killer robots will be debated during the meeting at Geneva, addressing the concerns that could be a threat to humanity.
According to the public, the fully autonomous weapons do not "exist" yet, but other countries and its high-tech military research labs were already developing the technology. Some experts predict that the killer robots will be fully operational in the next 20 years, that is, if it makes through a majority agreement in the upcoming CCW meetings.
The two professors have two slightly different opinions regarding the killer robots. Prof. Sharkey warned the autonomous machines aren't guaranteed to always comply with international laws. He added, "I'm concerned about the full automation of warfare," quoted from BBC.
Prof. Arkin claimed killer robots could help reduce non-combatant casualties and may be more effective at determining when not to engage with a target than humans are," The Independent reported.
There are already autonomous machines already in use. The Israeli "Guardium" is an unmanned vehicle that can guard areas and attack any trespassers using lethal weaponry and the U.S. Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Group Vehicle can perform surveillance, reconnaissance, assault and breaching missions.
Further improvements on these autonomous machines' lethality concern many international groups.
"Fully autonomous weapons also raise serious questions of accountability because it is unclear who should be held responsible for any unlawful actions they commit. Human Rights Watch calls for a preemptive prohibition on fully autonomous weapons," told the Human Rights Watch.
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